Two-Wave Strategic Baseline Suspension
Observational StudyClinical Trial
Field experiments launched independently in international settings often encounter logistical hurdles, participant suspicion, and legal recruitment constraints. Pausing intake to integrate formal commercial partners builds institutional legitimacy and improves sampling infrastructure.
Picture this
Imagine starting a public street survey and realizing people are hesitant to talk to strangers. You temporarily stop surveying, form an official partnership with a major trusted local bank, and reopen your survey desks right inside the bank's lobby branches where customers already feel secure.
What the evidence says
Wave 2 branch co-location resolved baseline refusal challenges, allowing enrollment to reach 8,248 total migrants and successfully retaining 4,458 participants.
- Who was studied
- 8,248 initial migrant recruits across Wave 1 (Sept–Nov 2018) and Wave 2 (Feb–Aug 2019) in the UAE.
- How
- Phased baseline rollout pausing field intake to formalize a research partnership with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and UAE Exchange.
What to do
Pause early-stage field intake to secure formal commercial partner integration when facing participant trust or logistical bottlenecks.
From the source
"A baseline survey was first launched in September 2018 (wave 1), which was suspended in November 2018 after reaching half of the sample size while we worked with UAE Exchange to formalize our research partnership. The second half of the baseline (wave 2) resumed in February 2019..."
A Field Experiment among Filipino Migrant Workers in the UAE